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Ajax
Write the first paragraph of your article here. Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax (Dutch pronunciation: ˈaːjɐks; Euronext: AJAX), also referred to as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam or simply Ajax (after the heroic Greek legend), is a professional football club from Amsterdam, Netherlands. The club is historically one of the three clubs that dominate the Dutch national football league (Eredivisie), the others being PSV and Feyenoord. Ajax is historically one of the most successful clubs of the world; according to the IFFHS, Ajax were the seventh most successful European club of the 20th century.2 The club is one of the five teams that has earned the right to keep the European Cup and to wear a multiple-winner badge; they won consecutively in 1971-1973. In 1972, they completed the European treble by winning the Dutch Eredivisie, KNVB Cup, and the European Cup; to date, they are the only team to keep the European Cup and accomplish the European treble. Ajax's last international trophies were the 1995 Intercontinental Cup and the 1995 Champions League, where they defeated Milan in the final; they lost the 1996 Champions League final on penalties to Juventus. They are also one of three teams to win the treble and the Intercontinental Cup in the same season/calendar year;3 This was achieved in the 1971-72 season.4 Ajax, Juventus and Bayern Munich are the three clubs to have won all three major UEFA club competitions.5 They have also won the Intercontinental Cup twice, the 1991–92 UEFA Cup, as well as the Karl Rappan Cup, a predecessor of the UEFA Intertoto Cup in 1962.6 Ajax plays at the Amsterdam ArenA, which opened in 1996. They previously played at De Meer Stadion and the Amsterdam Olympic Stadium (for international matches). Stadium Main article: Amsterdam ArenAAjax' first stadium was built in 1911 out of wood and was simply called "The Stadium". Ajax later played in the stadium built for the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics. This stadium, designed by Jan Wils, is known as the Olympic Stadium. In 1934, Ajax moved to De Meer Stadion in east Amsterdam, designed by architect and Ajax-member Daan Roodenburgh. The stadium could accommodate 29,500 spectators and Ajax continued to play there until 1996. For big European and national fixtures the club would often play at the Olympic Stadium, which could accommodate about twice the number of spectators. In 1996, Ajax moved to a new home ground in the southeast of the city known as the Amsterdam ArenA This was built by the Amsterdam city authority at a cost of $134 million. The stadium is capable of holding approximately 52,000 people. The average attendance in 2006/07 was 48,610, rising in the next season to 49,128. The ArenA has a retractable roof and set a trend for other modern stadiums built in Europe in the following years. In the Netherlands, the ArenA has earned a reputation for a terrible grass pitch caused by the removable roof that, even when open, takes away too much sunlight and fresh air. During the 2008-2009 season grounstaff introduced an artificial lighting system that has finally reduced this problem considerably. The much-loved De Meer stadium was torn down and the land was sold to the city council. A residential neighbourhood now occupies the area. The only thing left of the old stadium are the letters AJAX, nowadays in place on the façade of the youth training grounds De Toekomst, near the Amsterdam Arena.